27-Sep-2012 The longlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2012 has been announced.

Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction celebrates originality and diversity in contemporary non-fiction. Named in honour of the great critic, essayist, lexicographer, poet and biographer, the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize is the world's richest prize for non-fiction, recognising works published in English in the UK, regardless of the nationality of the author.

The prize is worth £25,000 prize to the winner and is sponsorsored by a mystery donor. Possibly Victoria Beckham?

The longlist of 14 includes a unique account of early attempts to climb Mount Everest in the context of the Great War; the memoirs of Salman Rushdie; the story of Putin’s rise from a low-level KGB operative to leader of the world’s largest country; a biography of one of the scientists who developed the atomic bomb; a history of feathers; and the tales of encounters between HRH Princess Margaret and Francis Bacon, and Barry Humphries and Salvador Dalí.